Divine Vision and the Nature of Light
Having considered so much, it was necessary for the animals... in such a way it could not remain... not even... the 'was' signifies the ungenerated... God made the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1), whence the earth is not ungenerated. For not always 'was' signifies the eternal, but often... it happens in such a way that 'and there was a man of noble...' gap... invisible through the... constructed, since the things capable... came to this.
These things, indeed, gap he proposes to understand by word... we consider the invisible and unconstructed... by its own word, without and formless... of forms and shaped things... this is constructed from all... with its own matter and... in Wisdom it says: 'For the hand of your Almighty did not fail and create the cosmos out of formless matter...' gap... we only propose by word... And darkness was upon the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2). Darkness, indeed, someone might take as the sensible... having been light, it was darkness not existing... light subsisting, which was over the deep. The deep, however, is deep water, of which there is no measure to be taken, the depth being made manifest by length and breadth. He says the Spirit hovers over the water; and if the simplest understanding were to fall gap... lying upon the immeasurable water and especially... since the Spirit gap with the senses...
With such discourses, he sows spiritual things many times, he who even now performs the movement. Therefore, it is preserved, for they did not make something of waters according to nature, but something else.
The abyss would be the darkness of ignorance. A holy thing is brought over the powers, spirits, principalities, thrones, lordships. 'God saw the waters, and they saw and were afraid' (Job 38:16). It is evident, however, that it is not about sensible waters, for he neither fears nor sees, for they are inanimate; for God sees not with eyes but understands with unmixed and pure intellect.
Evil exists in things according to nature, but virtue exists part by part from knowledge. 'And God said, Let there be light, and there was light' (Genesis 1:3). What light is there with the luminaries, as in 'Praise him, sun, and moon, praise him, all you stars and light' (Psalm 148:3)? They think another light exists from this, apart from the sun and the rest of the stars. Perhaps it is not entirely irreconcilable to have the notion that before the sun there was some radiance, thinking that another light was to be. For they say that it was not yet defining something for us, but it appeared. Some radiance leaps forward, an external radiance of the sun, the form of sensible lights, as if rays of light.
Greek
τοσοῦτον ἔχουσα̣ ··· · πρ̣ο̣[ ] [··· ·]σ̣ην ἔμελλεν εἶναι χρειῶδες καὶ πρ̣ο`̣ς τὰ ζῷα ·ε··· ··· ··· ··· [··· ·]τως εἶχεν μεῖναι οὐκ ἠδύνατο ου᾿̣δὲ ··· ··· ··· ··· ·· μα [··· ·]· τὸ "6ἦν"6 τὸ ἀγένητον δηλοῦν ··· ··· ται ··· ··· ·· ἐποί- [ησεν] ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν"6, ὅθεν 1 οὐκ ἀγένητ̣ο̣ς̣ [ἡ γ]ῆ. Ο̣υ᾿̣δ̣ε`̣ γ̣ὰρ [ἀεὶ τὸ] "6ἦν"6 τὸ ἀΐδιον δηλοῖ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις ···[··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ··] [··· ··]τω συνῆπται ὡς τὸ "6καὶ ἦν ἀνὴ[ρ ἐκεῖνος εὐγένης ··· ··· ····] [··· ·]τερον δηλ[οῖ [··· ··· ·]α·· ων· ει[···]·· ···[...............................] [··· ···]····βανεται ··· ·· [.................................] [····] εκ····εν τε το̣ ην̣ η····· [...............................] [····] ἀόρατος ου··· ·· διὰ τὴν τ[.............................] [κατα]σκεύαστος, ἐπεὶ τὰ δυνάμεν[α ..............................] [····] ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐλήλυθε. Ταῦτα με`̣ν [..........................] [····] λέξεως ὑποβάλλει νοεῖν ··η, [.............................] [····]βοιμεν τὴν ἀόρατον καὶ ἀκα̣τα̣[σκεύαστον...................] [····]· τῷ μὲν ἰδίῳ λόγῳ ἄποιος καὶ ἀ´̣[μορφος....................] [····]μάτων καὶ μορφωμάτων αυτ[...................... κατα]- [σκευ]α´̣ζεται τοῦτο ἐξ ὅλων [...................................] [····] μετὰ τῆς ὕλης αὐτῆς καὶ [...............................] [····] ἐν τῇ Σοφίᾳ λέγει· "6Οὐ γὰρ [ἠπόρει ἡ παντοδύναμός σου χεὶρ καὶ κτί]- [σασα τ]ὸν κ̣[ό]σμον ἐξ ἀμόρφου ὕλ[ης...........................] [····]ηματισ··ν μόνῳ λόγ[ῳ π]ρ̣ο̣ε̣π̣ι̣νοουμε[....................] ι, 2. [Καὶ σκότος] ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου, κα[ὶ] πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετ̣ο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος. [Σκότο]ς μὲν οὖν τὸ αἰσθητὸν ε[ἴ τ]ις τοῦτο ἐκλάβοι, δυν[............] [··· ··] φωτὸς γεγενημένου σκότος ἦν οὐκ ουσ[..................] 4α φωτὸς ὑφιστάμενον, ὅπερ ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου ὑπῆρχεν. [Ἡ ἄβυσσος] δέ ἐστιν ὕδωρ βάθυ, οὗ οὐκ ἔστιν μέτρον λαβει῀̣ν, τοῦ βάθου[ς τῷ μήκει] τε κ̣αὶ πλατείᾳ δηλονότι ἑπομένου. Τῷ ὕδατι ἐπιφέρεσ[θαι τὸ πνεῦμά] φησιν· κ̣αὶ εἴη μὲν κατα`̣ τὴν ἁπλουστέραν διάνοιαν πν[··· ··· ··] μέρος τῷ ἀμέτρῳ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐπικείμενον καὶ μάλιστ[α ··· ··· ·] φανει α· ἐπ̣ε̣ι̣δὴ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα ταῖς αἰσθηταῖς διήγεσιν [··· ··· ··] ··σπείρειν ε[··]θεν κ̣αὶ πνευματικὰ πολλάκις, ὁ καὶ νῦν ποι[εῖ ··· ···] μεν τὴν κινητοῦ [··· ··· ·]ιαν. ∆ιῄρηται τοίνυν ἡ τῶ[ν ··· ··· ·] [··· ···] ··· ··· · ε··· [...............]·· γὰρ τα[··· ··· ··] [.....................................]των ε[..................] [.................................]ν πρ̣ος ῃ··· [...............] [.....................................]φυσιν αλλ[..............] [................................ ὑ]δάτων οὐκ ἐποίησεν. ·[····] [............................ Ἡ] ἀ´̣βυσσος οὖν εἴη ἂν ἡ τῆς [···] [............................]·ῃν τὴν ἄγνοιαν σκότῳ και`̣ [···] [............................]· ἅγιον ἐπιφέρεται ἐπάνω [···] [......................]· π[ν]εῦμα ἀρχαὶ ἐξουσίαι θρόνοι κ[υρι]- [ότητες ··· ··· ··· ···]· τ[·] "6Εἴδοσάν σε ὕδατα ὁ Θεὸσ[, εἴδο][σαν σε καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν"6· δῆλ]ον δὲ ὡς οὐ περὶ αἰσθητῶν [ὑδά]- [των ··· ··· ὅτι οὐδὲ φοβεῖ]ται οὐδὲ ὁρᾷ, ἄψυχα γάρ· ὁρᾶ[ται] [γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ··· ··· ··· ·· ἀλλ]ὰ νοήσει ἀσυγχύτῳ καὶ καθ[αρᾷ] [··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ···]νοις κακίας ὑπάρχει [··]τε[.......] [··· ··· ··]τοις γενν[··]·[··] κατὰ φύσιν, ἀλλὰ ἐκ γνω[..........] [··· ··· ··]·μενης κακίαν καὶ ἀρετὴν ἀνὰ μέρος ὑπο̣·[............] [··· ··· ··]ς ι, 3. [Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· γε]νηθήτω φῶς καὶ ἐγένετο φῶσ[ 5α τι φῶ[ς μ]ετὰ τῶν φωστήρων ὡς ἐν τῷ "6Αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸ[ν ἥλιος] καὶ σελ̣[ήν]η, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν πάντα τὰ ἄστρα καὶ τὸ φῶ[ς"6, ἕτερον] ἐκ τού[του] φῶς παρὰ τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἄστρα ὑπ[άρχειν] νομί[ζον]τες· τάχα δὲ οὐ πάνυ ἀναντίρρητόν ἐστιν[...............] ···σ[···]δε τὴν ὑπόνοιαν ἔχοντες ὅτι πρὸ ἡλί[ου ...................] τις αὐ[γή,] ᾕπερ ἕτερον φῶς εἶναι νομίζουσιν· [....................] ····[··]··· ··· ··· ··φασὶν γὰρ ὅτι μήπω ελ̣[..................] ····[··]τ̣ον καθ' ἡμᾶς ὁρίζοντα ἀλλ̣ὰ παρ··τ·[....................] ····[··]νοντο· προπηδᾷ αὐγή τις εξ··· ···[....................] ····[··] ἑτέρα τοῦ ἡλίου ἡ ἔξω̣θ̣εν αὐγῂ··· ···[..................] ····[··]·ιο τῶν̣ αι᾿̣σθητῶν̣ εἰδέας ··· ··· ·[.....................] [..........]··ας ·[··· ···]··[··· ···]··· φ[..................] [..........]·ι φωτὸς̣ [αὐ]γαὶ ὡς
About this text
Didymus the Blind reads the creation account verse by verse, finding Christ and the Spirit in Genesis.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.